What is cannabinoid hyperemesis, the disease of cannabis vomiting?

Let's see what cannabinoid hyperemesis is like, a little known disorder that causes constant vomiting.

Cannabis is the most widely consumed illegal drug in the world (and is on its way to being legalized in many places). Much of the popularity of marijuana is due to the low awareness of risk that exists among the population, and the great economic interests that it moves.

Some of the negative consequences of excessive cannabis consumption are well known, such as psychotic symptoms, dependence, anxiety, sleep problems, irritability, etc. But there is a disease caused by marijuana consumption that is little known among the population, even among most doctors and health professionals. It is the cannabinoid hyperemesis, or "marijuana vomiting disease"..

In this article I am going to tell you about this little known disease, its treatment and a real testimony.

Symptoms of cannabinoid hyperemesis.

These are the the main symptoms that define this alteration.

• Constant nausea
• Frequent episodes of vomiting
• Abdominal pain (severe)
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Dehydration
• Seizures
• Muscle spasms
• Tachycardias
• Cerebral edema (in the most severe cases).

What causes the cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome?

Cannabis is a very complex plant, composed of many different substances. While certain marijuana consumption tends to have certain effects on the brain (calming Nausea or vomiting in chemotherapy patients, for example), it can have opposite effects on the digestive tract (producing the aforementioned urge to vomit and abdominal pain).

The scientific community is still unclear why some people suffer from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome and others do not. Excessive marijuana use is often a common factor, but genetic differences are probably the key factor in explaining the origin of the disease.

Phases of cannabinoid hyperemesis

This disease usually consists of three distinct phases.

1. Prodromal phase

The usual symptoms during this phase are morning stomach pains and nausea.

This phase usually lasts for months or years, during which time it remains undiagnosed.. In some cases because health care providers do not know how to diagnose it, and in most cases because the person does not mention frequent cannabis use (or is not asked about it).

A curious detail of this disease that has the scientific community confused is that marijuana consumed in certain quantities can help stop vomiting and nausea. However, for reasons that are not yet clear, certain people who consume marijuana very frequently suffer the opposite effect..

Here comes the paradoxical effect: many regular cannabis users increase their marijuana consumption when they encounter the first symptoms of the disease, thereby accelerate the progression and worsening of symptoms without realizing it..

They think that marijuana will stop the symptoms, without realizing that it provokes and worsens them in the long term.

2. Hyperemesis phase

The next phase of this disease usually occurs in a cyclical fashion, and can last anywhere from 24 hours to several days.

In the hyperemesis phase, the person suffers strong compulsive urge to vomit, severe abdominal pain, and a strong urge to take hot showers or baths (which usually relieves symptoms). (which usually relieves the symptoms).

This is the phase in which they usually ask for professional help and go to the doctor.

3. Recovery phase

In this phase the person will will experience relief from nausea and abdominal pain only if he/she reduces or stops using marijuana..

Recovery can last for weeks or months, and relapses can occur if the person returns to cannabis use.

Testimony of a real case

I was recently contacted by a person describing the disabling experience of her ex her ex-partner's crippling experience with cannabinoid hyperemesis (for obvious reasons, we will keep her anonymous):

"We have had a very big problem with this my ex-boyfriend and myself. We were living together and he has lost 4 jobs because of this. There was no way he would go to the ADC, he would go for two days and nothing, he wouldn't come back.

The doctors no longer gave him sick leave because they knew what he was and he lost his jobs. The last time he lost his unemployment because he left his previous job to another one with better conditions and in the other one he did not pass the probationary period because he got sick, and he lost his unemployment because they do not give it to you if you have left one and in the other one you do not pass the probationary period.

So we were left without being able to pay for the house because of the illness. It has been horrible. Until after we couldn't pay and they left us money for the house he got sick again 3 months later and I decided to end the relationship in June.

It was horrible, he stayed more than 15 days in bed vomiting. He has even spent 20 something days with constant vomiting and showers of burning water every half hour (which was the only thing that calmed him down). Unbelievable, it's hard to believe.

It took about 5 years to diagnose him, because few doctors know him and they were testing his stomach, stool and so on. But losing 4 jobs and starting with the lies saying he doesn't smoke anymore, catching him and seeing him get sick again was horrible.... And me crying while he was miserable. But then he would go back to it.

That's why I'd like you to put it out there so it has more visibility and that joints also tear families apart (besides becoming apathetic). So, very hard.

• You might be interested in "What does psychological treatment for cannabis addiction look like?"

Treatment of cannabinoid hyperemesis.

The most effective treatment (and the only one that actually ceases symptoms) is to end marijuana use.

But here comes the difficulty for most people suffering from cannabinoid hyperemesis: cannabis produces dependenceand most people who develop the disease already have a very high and frequent consumption, with a certain level of addiction.

In addition, it coincides with the definition of addiction: when a person feels unable to stop an activity or consumption, despite the serious negative consequences of this.

I am Luis Miguel Real, and I work as a psychologist specializing in addictions. If you want to quit marijuana (or you have a family member who needs to quit) contact me and we will start working on it as soon as possible.